Product Features
Friday, February 13, 2009 - ProductMan
On the eve of Valentine’s Day, I’m going to declare my love for robots. Maybe love isn’t the right word, but it is more than a casual fascination. From cartoon robots that are engineered to bend and befriend to shape shifting cyborgs that can travel through time and walk through walls, I can’t resist robot charm. I’ll even settle for that robotic vacuum cleaner that’s all the rage these days. I think robots remind me that the future has arrived.
But all robots aren’t created equal. I’m certainly not a fan of robocall, the annoying and justifiably controversial telemarketing robot that is seemingly programmed to interrupt my dinner. Even more troubling are those automated computer poker players known as BOTS.
BOTS are designed to compete against human poker players either as legitimate opponents or as a form of cheating. Unlike the game of chess, where no information is concealed from players or observers, poker is a game of imperfect information. In poker some cards are concealed, making it impossible for a computer to figure out the exact state the game is in.
If you browse popular poker forums, you’ll find no shortage of opinions on BOTS. Whether you love them or hate them, their use is on the rise. Poker sites are constantly improving their detection techniques to stamp out BOTS, but they are just like mosquitoes. You may zap a few of them, but there are always more waiting around the corner.
At Ultimatebet we have no patience for BOTS and consider their use cheating. If you can’t use them in a live environment game, using them online is cheating, pure and simple. If you are playing against a human, you should have an equal opportunity to gain the same information. We also strive to foster a sense of community, where live players can chat and interact naturally.
If you are caught using BOTS on the Cereus Network, you will face the consequences of permanent account closure and confiscation of funds. You have been warned.
Tags: Cereus, poker bots, poker security, Product Team, Security
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Tuesday, February 3, 2009 - Customer Service
Rabbit Cam?
You can cancel your appointment with the shrink: you’re not going nuts; the rabbit on your table is not in your mind! Actually, Ultimate Bet offers you this cool feature in order to let you check which card would have been dealt if the hand had not been completed after the flop or the turn card.
It is very easy to activate the Rabbit Cam! In order to do so, select the “Options” button in the menu and place a check mark in the “Rabbit Cam” box.
You can learn more about this feature at http://www.ultimatebet.com/cereus-features/
Feel free to send us any question or suggestion that you may have to support@ultimatebet.com
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Reconciliations Matters
If for some reason you have noticed that a single deposit transaction has been deposited twice in your poker account, we invite you to contact us at reconciliations@ultimatebet.com. Rest assured that you will be notified by our reconciliation department once the funds have been placed in your poker account. Since the money cannot be credit back to your credit card directly, you are entitled to request a payout and we will cover the fees for the inconvenience.
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Deposit Option of the Week: Moneybookers
More and more players are getting registered to send and receive money through moneybookers.
Moneybookers enables you to send and receive payments online – in real-time through an email address from your credit card, debit card or bank account.
Moneybookers processes your transactions securely. When you log in to Moneybookers they ask for the Turing Number which is used to prevent unsecured logins against your Moneybooker’s account. It is a random number, displayed as an image, which must be entered correctly in order to successfully login and make a purchase.
Moneybookers accepts Visa, Mastercard, other local ewallet solutions, bank wires and bank transfers. It a free of charge method with us, now, when uploading money to your Moneybookers account a small fee is usually charged.
Tags: deposit options, moneybookers, rabbit cam, reconcilliation
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - ProductMan
One of the things I love most about online poker is that you can play by your own rules. I’m not going to pretend that you can magically transform a pair of twos into a lucrative royal flush, but there are major advantages online that even the most opulent spot on the Vegas Strip can’t compete with. Who doesn’t love playing six hands at once, all while catching up on your email, watching random video clips, and blasting the hottest tracks without wearing any pants?
You might have noticed that we altered the UltimateBet soundtrack when we joined the CEREUS network. Although many players drown out the sounds when they hit the tables, our sounds help keep players up to speed. I always thought silence was supposed to be golden, but apparently some players miss the old effects.
We have some changes in store, but we need your feedback. What would you like us to do about the sounds?
• Would you like us to restore the sounds from the old UltimateBet?
• How would you feel if we created a whole new soundtrack filled with more sound effects that are both sweet and soothing? Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but what if the sounds were fun and functional?
• Perhaps you couldn’t care less and usually mute the UltimateBet soundtrack and bellow your own tunes.
Whatever your perspective is, we want to hear it! We always welcome your input. Feel free to contact support or post your feedback directly into the comments section of this blog. Our music isn’t going to snag any Grammy nominations, but we hope you’ll still chime in with your sound thoughts.
Tags: Cereus, customer input, Online Poker, poker soundtrack, Product Features, software features, software updates
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Friday, January 23, 2009 - ProductMan
Everything is good in moderation, or so the old adage goes. Of course, what passes for moderation is not only debatable, but varies from person to person and certainly depends on the act in question.
We’ve all heard the horror stories of the seemingly successful family man who once had it all, only to lose his house, job, wife, and kids to the perils of the bottle or the allure of lady luck. Such stories, although typically true, seem so dramatic that it is hard to take them seriously. How many times have you thought that this kind of thing could never happen to you? The average person thinks they have total control, or that they can catch themselves if they ever happen to slip up. While most people do play responsibly, there are some players who can’t control their desire to gamble.
At UltimateBet, we take responsible gaming very seriously. We do our best to work with players who develop problems. The entire UltimateBet Team is committed to responsible gaming practices and providing resources and discreet support to players who feel that their gaming is becoming a problem.
A lot of people incorrectly assume that gaming problems are all about money. Like all addictive behavior, the symptoms are diverse.
Have you ever:
* unsuccessfully attempted to reduce your gaming habits?
* spent more money on gaming than you originally intended?
* argued about gaming with family and friends?
* lost, then had the urge to return as soon as possible to win back your losses?
* felt guilty about gaming or had a severe mood swings?
* borrowed money to gamble and had difficulty with repaying?
* considered obtaining money illegally for gaming?
* sold personal belongings to obtain money for gaming?
* been absent from work or home due to gaming?
* risked or lost a relationship due to gaming?
We are dedicated to helping you take preventative measures if you’ve experienced any of these symptoms. We will gladly restrict you from our real money tables, either permanently or temporarily. Our players are also subject to deposit limits, which effectively act as a safety net.
UltimateBet also offers a wealth of responsible gaming resources, which you can access from our game client by selecting “Responsible Gaming” from the “Game Info” dropdown menu.
Please be sure to visit http://www.ultimatebet.com/responsible-gaming for tons of valuable information, including links to some of world’s best organizations. Even if you always stay calm, cool, and collected, you might know someone who needs a helping hand away from the tables.
Tags: Product Features, Product Team, responsible gaming, responsible gaming resources, Security
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Thursday, January 22, 2009 - ProductMan
Our engineers might not have the cure for the winter blues or whatever flu bug seems to be spreading like wildfire this week, but they definitely have the prescription for those recent snags in our software. Thanks in part to your valuable feedback, our diligent development team has ironed out a few of those annoying minor glitches. You can take advantage of the fixes outlined below by installing our latest software update.
Special Characters:
You might not be a special character, but if your name features special characters outside the bounds of the standard alphabet, you may have experienced difficulties registering your name correctly. Our servers will now accept names that include a space, hyphen, or apostrophe. If your surname is O’Brien, Zeta Jones, Parker-Bowles, or anything else for that matter, we’ve now got you covered. You shouldn’t have to give up your roots and change your name—and now you don’t have to.
Tournament Listings:
You might have noticed that information for some completed tournaments was displayed incorrectly. Despite being completed, some tournaments erroneously showed remaining players and active running times.
We are pleased to report that details for all completed tournaments are now up to date and will be accurately displayed in real time.
We’re dedicated to making sure our poker software is second to none. If you experience any issues or have any suggestions, please do not hesitate to let us know. Feel free to contact support or post your comments below. We always welcome your valuable feedback.
Tags: Product Features, product updates, software updates
Comments (7)
Friday, January 16, 2009 - ProductMan
With the tundra in full effect, it seems like every meteorologist in the northeast thinks he’s a magician. I don’t know how many times I’ve watched a forecast where the weatherman tried to impress me by turning a soaking wet t-shirt into a frozen rock-hard wonder in 60 seconds flat. I get it! It’s freezing. If I wanted to be amused, I’d visit an amusement park.
Of course, in this climate the nearest roller coaster is four months or a three-hour flight away. Now I really feel like a dwarfish kid who doesn’t quite measure up against one of those “you must be this tall to ride” signs. Knowing that safety comes first was never much consolation, even if my mom let me have all the funnel cakes and ice cream I couldn’t handle.
Our poker room is pretty much the adult version of an amusement park without the nausea, except we’ve replaced the height restrictions with a stringent age requirement. We do go to great lengths to curb underage gambling.
While brick and mortar casinos can rely on intimidating bouncers and on the fly identification checks, the internet tends to be more anonymous and has the potential to be a magnet for deceit. There have been a lot of reports in the media about the prevalence of underage online gambling. In reality, we are not only a responsible gaming operator, but we also work diligently and successfully to stamp out underage players.
We require that all players meet the legal age set by their country of residence. Players who live in jurisdictions without a legal age must be at least 18 years of age to play on our site. We actively seek and ban players who do not meet our age restrictions. Our rigorous regulatory and payment processing guidelines effectively lock out minors.
Occasionally, underage players may attempt to use the account of a parent. Parents are advised to:
• refrain from saving their password on their computer
• regularly change the passwords for both their computer and poker login
• contact site support immediately if they suspect that their poker account has been compromised by their son or daughter
Concerned parents can take advantage of valuable child protection software, including Cyberpatrol, Cybersitter and K9 Web Protection, to block gaming and other adult oriented sites.
If you happen to encounter a player who might be underage while playing on our site, please contact us and we will thoroughly investigate your report.
You can access a wealth of responsible gaming resources by selecting “Responsible Gaming” from the “Game Info” dropdown menu in the UltimateBet game client.
Feel free to visit http://www.ultimatebet.com/responsible-gaming for tons of valuable info.
Tags: child protection software, game client, identification ehecks, payment processing guidelines, responsible gaming, responsible gaming operator
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Tuesday, January 6, 2009 - ProductMan
Yes, it’s that time of year again. The calendar clearly reads January, but I know it’s going to take me at least a month before I can successfully write a check that acknowledges that it is actually 2009.
I’m not afraid of change or the future for that matter, but I’ve grown fond of (or at least accustomed to) 2008 and all her glory. Since it is too early for nostalgia, I guess I’ll get back to the equivalent of business. Yes, these are the days where I get to kick my Christmas tree to the curb and unravel that intricate web of holiday lights. Attention shopkeepers: I’m about to return a lot of unwanted gifts this week. Also, I need some new pants to accommodate my new waistline courtesy of that once-coveted festive cheer, or maybe just some time and a gym membership.
Those New Year’s Eve champagne stains I neglected to clean up are probably going to be a permanent fixture on my carpets, but at least they’ll remind me of the brilliant year that was, especially at UltimateBet. We rolled out exciting changes last year and we’re glad you could be a part of them. Here are a few highlights:
• Tour Of Duty Challenge: More than a few good men joined the UB army and fought hard during vigorous tours that transformed our poker tables into the ultimate battlefield. With chips in your arsenal you struggled for honor, victory, and the glory of a piece of $260,000.
• RAI$E: We reinvented the wheel with the ultimate poker rewards program that grows with you. The more you play, the more you earn. With free cash, tourneys, auctions, and shopping, and countless exclusive benefits, other poker rooms are going to need a ladder to even think about competing.
• Ultimate Leaderboards: Our new leaderboard makes it easier to get the recognition you deserve. With the best and most straightforward system in the biz you can compete and follow your favorites. Cash in just by hitting the tables!
• CEREUS: Things instantly got serious when we joined the CEREUS poker network. With more players, bigger tournaments, heftier jackpots, new software, and loads of new features, the action is better than ever.
Thanks for helping make our poker room a massive success. The best is yet to come in 2009!
Happy New Year!
Tags: 2009, Cereus, new years, Rai$e Loyalty Club, Rai$e VIP Team, raise, tour of duty challenge, ub army, Ultimate Leaderboards
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Tuesday, January 6, 2009 - CMO
Ultimate Bet now offers a low $10 first time deposit, which we will match by 111% with the deposit code UBBLOG111.
I’m excited to be able to relay this HUGE news to the Ultimate Bet community. For the first time ever, we’ve lowered our first time minimum deposit amount to a measly $10! What does this mean? If you’ve never before enjoyed online poker with Ultimate Bet, or you’re currently using your UB account for play money games, you’ve just been given an incredible incentive to sign up and start playing real money online poker! The previous first time deposit minimum of $50 was already considered low, and now you can start playing for %20 of that. There is no easier or more affordable way to start building your poker empire than by depositing 10 BUCKS with Ultimate Bet. As well, when make your first deposit, we’ll match it by 111% (up to $1100) in bonus dollars. To take advantage of this great offer, simply enter first time deposit bonus code UBBLOG111.
See you at the tables!
CMO
Tags: $10 minimum deposit, bonus code, first time deposit, first time deposit bonus code, first time deposit minimum, low deposit minimum, Play Poker, real money poker games
Comments (3)
Thursday, January 1, 2009 - Pete
The December days of deals went very well. Players received some amazing prizes every single day in December. Flat screen plasma TV’s to double loyalty points.
The big hit for December was the rakerace. This was the largest rakerace in the history of online poker and it was a hit. We will have given out over $220,000 in cash.
It truly paid to be a player on Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet this month.
I can’t wait to say Happy New Year as we have so many amazing promotions and technology enhancements coming out in 2009.
Keep your eye out for more amazing promos coming up in January. Especially, UBOC (Ultimate Bet Online Challenge) which starts Janaury 9th.
Tags: Corporate, day of deals, Executive, happy holidays, new year, poker promotions, rakerace, software updates, technology enhancements, UBOC, ultimate bet online challenge
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Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - ProductMan
As tempted as I am to get a head start on my new year’s resolutions, I’m still clinging to at least 2008 delusional dreams. I don’t have an official to do list that I’m still toying with, but I know that fresh starts usually involve discipline at the expense of fun and the biggest party of the year is only hours away.
Even though the calendar is set to strike ’09 at the edge of tomorrow, I won’t be contending with reality or officially dismissing the holiday season until Monday. You know how those midweek celebrations usually deliver pandemonium right into the weekend. Luckily, the product team isn’t slacking.
Next week we’ll be adding the convenience of tooltips to each of the options in the Game Options window. Tooltips are those small text boxes that magically appear when you run your mouse cursor over certain parts of the screen. Without having to click your mouse, tooltips display valuable information about the particular option. You’ll no longer have to go searching for definitions and explanations of each menu choice, which will make it even easier to customize your game. As we get set to roll out tooltips, you can take a look at all our handy options below.
• Hot Key: Keyboard shortcuts for common poker actions. (F1: Fold, F2: Check, F3: Bet, F4: Call, F5: Raise, F6: Double Raise, F7: Double Bet, F8: All In, F9: Bring In)
• Sound Effects: Enable or disable all sounds.
• Display Bet amount: Show or hide the numeric chip amount next to chip stacks on the table.
• Rabbit Cam: Displays the next card that would have been dealt after the hand has ended. Only available on some holdem ring game tables.
• Display Chat bubble: Display or hide chat bubbles on the table when players chat.
• Full Animation: Display or hide the full table animations such as dealing of cards.
• Show Pot Value: Displays the numeric pot amount.
• Show whole dollars only: Show or hide cents from chip counts, bets and pots.
• Show Ultimate Points: Display or hide the number of UltimatePoints [FAME Credits] earned after each hand has completed.
• Disable Enter to Bet: Prevents the keyboard Enter key from placing a bet.
• Disable pop to front: Prevents the table from popping in front of other windows when it is your turn.
We’ll be ushering in the new year with tons of other new and handy features. Keep visiting this space for all the latest news. As always, we welcome your feedback.
Tags: game options, menu choice, new years resolution, poker options, poker software, Product Features, Product Team, software options, tooltips, year end
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